Munster not in crisis, insists determined Wallace
Munster rugby is in crisis. Or so the players are being told.
Lose to Ulster at Thomond Park on Saturday and some will insist that this crop of players — magnificent and all as they have been for a decade and more — are past their sell-by-date.
David Wallace disagrees with such sweeping analysis. The 33-year-old, who featured in all three Lions Tests this summer, understands the frustration of fans but insists that Munster aren’t on the brink of disaster.
“Ah, no, we’re not in crisis”, said one of the game’s finest back-row forwards. “I certainly don’t think it’s the end of an era. We’ve had a couple of sub-par performances but we know we can go that bit further. That’s the plan and obviously with Ulster coming down this weekend, it’s a big challenge.”
But Wallace isn’t immune to the feedback.
He agreed: “It’s been a tough month and we certainly didn’t play well in our last match against Edinburgh. We felt we allowed a few chances to slip but we were still there or thereabouts and had a couple of things gone our way, we could have won.”
Arguably the game’s turning point cam midway through the first half when just about everyone but the Television Match Official felt Wallace had scored a try. Wallace has no doubt that it was a score
“I felt I just made it but I knew it would probably go to video,” he reflected. “I also knew it was probably going to be inconclusive because I got turned a bit and hands got under the ball; it was going to be very difficult to see whether I reached the line. I’ve seen it a few times and feel I just made it.
“Any disallowed try is going to be crucial but you just have to get on with it. We were still down there (inside the Edinburgh 22) but messed it up.”
And so to the level of Munster performances this season which are well below the standards of a side regarded as one of the best in the game earlier this year.
The 30-0 thrashing by Leinster was expected to be the catalyst for change, however the display in Edinburgh — which culminated in the fourth defeat in eight games this season — suggests there has been little improvement.
“The Leinster game was very disappointing and we were very upset afterwards,” Wallace accepted.
“At times we’ve played well, at times only in fits and bursts and not as consistently as we would like it to be. We’re making individual errors that are letting teams back into games.
“We can take a lot from the last day (against Edinburgh). It was against a team going well this season and we were still in with a shout at the end. I think our scrum was good at the weekend and that we were pretty dominant there.
“I think people are reading too much into the results. We are happy with what we want to do, it’s just a case of going out and doing it. It’s a case of everybody having to raise the bar and hopefully that will happen this week.”
Disappointment and frustration have reached breaking point among many members of the Red Army, many of whom have found it convenient to look in the direction of the management and especially coaches Tony McGahan and Lawrie Fisher when apportioning responsibility. But Wallace isn’t having any of that.
“The coaching team is trying their best. They’re putting structures in place for us to play and maybe when it comes to match day, we’re not doing the simple things like the basics and the patterns. As players, we definitely need to lift it.”
Wallace doesn’t need reminding that Ulster walloped Munster 37-11 in the corresponding game last season at Thomond Park. While he respects and admires what they have been doing of late, he reacts to being told that they have a lot of back-row forwards coming through by pointing out that: “so do we. Whichever XV goes out there and wants it more is going to walk away with the goods. We’re not thinking about having a poor performance, we’re thinking of having a good, positive performance and winning playing the kind of good rugby that we know we can.
“That’s the game plan.”
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